


The Nuances of Familiarity

by earthsgayestdefender



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (? In some universes I suppose), (I suppose? HAHA), Angst, M/M, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 02:26:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17972696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earthsgayestdefender/pseuds/earthsgayestdefender
Summary: Stephen Strange is alive again.He knows he is, because if he were dead, his heart wouldn't have squeezed painfully at the sight of the man he loves in the arms of someone else.In which Stephen contemplates all the ways he does (not) know Tony Stark.





	The Nuances of Familiarity

It hurts.

It hurts, you realize dully, taking note of the fresh yet familiar pain blooming across your chest like a blow that bruises, a stab wound that gushes out the contents of your heart for all the world to see.

All the world, except for him.

He doesn’t see you standing off to the side, with your shaky hands pressed to your robes, kept there so you wouldn’t press against the ache in your chest.

He only has eyes for her: his fiance, his sun and stars, _his world_. He stares at her, not having the faintest idea that you once – twice, a couple of million times over – meant everything to him.

You watch them hold each other in the most tender of embraces, their gazes soft and loving, even as he quips something about wanting a cheeseburger.The sound of her pleasant laughter echoes, thundering in your ears despite the distance between you. This hurts almost as much as their physical intimacy; the idea of an inside joke between them, something foreign to you, you who once knew everything about him.

You thought you knew everything about him, once upon a lifetime ago.

 _Do I even_ know _you?_ You long to ask, your eyes still fixed on them despite the veil of tears starting to blur your vision. The tears are nothing compared to the overflow of emotions in your heart; love, longing and loss churn into a tumultuous cocktail in your chest.

How is it that you feel so much for someone you don’t even know?

 _Do I even know_ you _?_ perhaps would be a better question. This is not the man you held through countless nights, whispering words of empty comfort into his hair. This is not the man who sacrificed himself over and over to protect you and the universe. This is not the man who held your unsteady hands against his fragile heart, promising to a ring and forever if you both managed to get out of this alive. 

And yet, as you watch him in the arms of another, he still is. You know the cracks in that cocky smile meant to reassure her. You know the calluses in his hands that now hold hers. You know the softness and love of his kiss that now presses against her lips.

You know him better than the backs of your own scarred hands. 

Wong finds you eventually, your fingers curled around the Eye of Agamotto that hangs from your neck. Face etched in concern, he gently asks if you’re all right. He’s gotten better at seeing through you; it wouldn’t surprise you if he knew, somehow, that you’re hopelessly, achingly in love with a man who doesn’t even know you.

“It hurts, but…” You turn to Wong, mouth curved in a half-smile that doesn’t reach your eyes. “Pain’s an old friend.”


End file.
